


A Little Downtime

by persephinae



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:20:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28084584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephinae/pseuds/persephinae
Summary: Garrus tries to have a nice quiet dinner with his Shepard, but life on the Normandy means that's an impossibility
Relationships: Female Shepard & Garrus Vakarian, Shakarian
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5





	A Little Downtime

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place during Citadel DLC in ME3 with minor tweaking here and there. I plan to write a few more chapters :)

"There's no way you can fit twenty marshmallows in your mouth, Vega. Human mouths are tiny."  
Commander Shepard, Savior of the Galaxy(TM), rounded the corner towards the kitchen to the source of the rambunctious voices and found a trio of trouble egging each other on to more mischief.   
James with a maw crammed full of marshmallows, slammed his fist on the countertop to indicate he found the statement a challenge.  
Cordelia Shepard on autopilot with correcting James, called out, "James, watch the countertop, it's real marble." as she went her way to the fridge.  
Delia heard a muffled "mmsrrvvmmyy" as she reached for a glass from the cupboard. She gave a small smile as she faced the fridge and pulled out some orange juice to pour in her glass. As she put the orange juice back she turned back to her troublesome crewmates and watched as James futilely tried shoving three more marshmallows in his mouth. She tried not to stare directly at his mouth, it was just gross at this point.  
So instead, she looked at Garrus for a moment, or two, or three, sighed at the fellow idiot whom she loved, then let her gaze fall on the last compatriot, Javik. He tried very hard to be an enigmatic uncaring asshole to most of the crew, but Delia knew deep down... he was legit an asshole, but he _did_ care, despite his many vociferous denials and cruel taunts towards those who dared to fraternize with him. And one of his many small, guilty pleasures, was being an absolute troll to James. Javik delighted in tormenting him with perceived slights, thinly veiled taunts of Prothean superiority, and dark sarcasm that mostly flew over James's head. Delia admitted to herself, in her heart of hearts, that sometimes James deserved the trolling and it was funny. At least her crewmates, while driving her crazy, managed to lift her spirits and keep her grounded while out saving the galaxy.   
"So how many did James get up to? Twelve?"  
Garrus stood up from his lean against the kitchen island and walked over towards Delia, to lean on the counter next to her side.  
"Well, the illustrious Mr. Vega here, to the request of no one, dared himself that he could fit fifteen marshmallows in his tiny human mouth. Then once that obscenely gross goal was met, he decided through pantomimes and muffled communication, that he could shoot for more. Per his last pantomime of communication, he indicated he could do twenty."  
Delia snorted at Garrus's apt description of events and almost spit out her orange juice. Garrus, used to his human now, merely rubbed her on the back, at the ready in case she needed a wack on the back. God, she loved him.  
She sighed, drank her juice again, and was silent as she watched James struggle again.  
"And this is what the hip kids do for fun, eh?"  
Javik curled his lip at the scene, answering, "Your James is like a child. Tell him he should not attempt something so stupid, and he proceeds to commence with the inane challenge in disgusting spite. In my cycle the elders would have mercy killed him, then ate him."  
She drank her juice again, then asked, "Really? You would eat someone like James?"  
Javik somehow manged to sneer even harder as he replied, "It would be against our better judgement and regretfully, but food was scarce. We would not waste supplies or manpower to support him. He would better serve the Empire as rations than a disgusting soldier."  
James paused in trying to stuff the last marshmallow in his mouth, and somehow manged to convey a muffled "That's harsh" around the disgusting mess of marshmallows.  
Garrus rolled his eyes and sighed, while Javik also took a deep cleansing breath to sigh away his agitation with primitives.   
Somehow in that moment, James managed to finally stuff twenty marshmallows in his mouth, slammed the countertop in triumph and threw his hands up in the air in victory once they looked at him again.  
Delia saluted him with her glass while Garrus gave a dry, sarcastic clap at the feat. Javik rolled all four eyes and turned to leave, tiredly waving at James in disgust.   
"I will take my leave, human. Every day I think to myself, 'Javik, surely they could not be more primitive and disgusting' and every day I am proven wrong. Congratulations, human James."  
Delia called after Javik, "We're not all like James, Javik!"  
Javik tiredly waved away her response and went to go find a book to read, and cleanse his mind from the spectacle he witnessed.  
Meanwhile, James began to mildly choke on marshmallows while attempting to imitate a crowd gone wild.  
Javik, hearing the commotion did not turn back, did not look back, but did shout back, "Congratulations, Mr. Vega! Truly, a new low!"  
Garrus sighed deeply, groaned, then walked over to James to pound him on the back (probably a little harder than necessary in Delia's estimation, but he deserved it).  
Delia with a prescient sixth sense about such things, grabbed a paper towel and headed towards James just as he began to spit up the marshmallows he was choking on.  
After cleaning himself up and his mess, James bowed towards his remaining audience.  
"Thank you, my friends!"  
Winking, he added, "And I remain undefeated."  
Delia made a "uh huh" noise, drank her juice, and asked, "Is there a reason you decided to do this challenge in my kitchen? Or do you just like embarrassing humanity to the cool aliens?"  
James shrugged one massive shoulder, replying, "No reason, Lola. Just saw them sitting in the cupboard and remembered some of the shit we used to pull in college. Bonus, it grossed out Buggy over there. Figure if he's gonna look down on us, I'll give him something to really look down on."  
Delia barked out a surprised laugh, "Ha! So you're going to counter troll him?"  
James gave an offended, innocent look as he replied, "Goodness! Me? Respond to rudeness by being immature? Shepard, perish the thought!"  
"Pfff.. right. What was I thinking?"  
Garrus rolled his eyes at the humans and crossed his arms, waiting to speak to Delia. James had his fun, and now it was time for him to leave. However, the human was immune to turian body language or pheromones, so did not realize that he was overstaying his welcome as he poured himself some coffee. Garrus's mandibles began to very slowly click in agitation. He could wait, he supposed.  
Delia, who was beginning to pick up turian social cues, nonchalantly took Garrus's hand and lead him back over to her side of the kitchen to lean in solidarity against the counter. She needed to get ready for her dinner date and didn't expect company this evening.  
"So uh, is there an occasion that you're here for, James? Or did you miss me that terribly since we docked this morning?"  
James smirked over his coffee, replying, "Oh you know I miss you terribly every moment, Lola. Every moment without Commander Shepard is a moment of missing your radiant sunshine."  
Delia made a "mmm hmmmm" noise as she waited impassively, sipping her juice.  
"And?"  
"And what?"  
"James, spit it out. Is there a reason you're visiting, or is it just my lucky day?"  
James made a tsking noise and shook his head, "Don't you know every day is a lucky day when I grace someone with my presence?"   
Garrus's mandible clicking became more noticeable, he casually scratched near a scale at the back of his jaw to cover up the movement.  
Delia drank the last of her juice then walked over to the sink to rinse and wash out her glass real quick. Drying the glass, she faced James and decided to be rude for Garrus's sake.  
"James, I have plans tonight and unless there is a super important reason for your delightful self to be gracing my kitchen, I'm going to have to politely ask you to leave."  
James let out a fake gasp of outrage, and mockingly replied, "I let myself endure the slings and taunts of our illustrious Prothean guest to travel all the way here with news from the Alliance, and this is the thanks I get?"  
Delia crossed her arms, unimpressed, and waited with a resting bitch face.  
After a few moments, James finally broke and answered, "Okay, okay. You got me. Brooks is trying to dig up some intel and wanted to present it to you hopefully soon. She said she made some real progress, despite accidentally locking herself out three times, and had to call Alliance IT to reset her password clearance. Now instead of MrWhiskers:3, her password is $MrWhiskersSnuggles>:3c, but she swore me to secrecy so don't tell anyone else."  
Delia snorted, but remained firm, "And?"  
"I know she's not the brightest bulb, but do you think.. if I asked her out..?"  
"James!"  
"Ok, ok! They kicked us all off the Normandy to do some deep contamination cleaning and maintenance! I was bored and figured I'd bother you for a bit! I'll just pack my rucksack and take my unwanted illustrious self back down to the docking bay. I'll find a better Normandy crew! One with hookers! And blackjack!"  
"Really."  
"Nah, not really. But I'll be down in the docking bay if you need me. I'll see what trouble I can stir up down there and leave you be."  
"What about your companion?"   
"Oh, he had his own private reasons. Reasons he would not share with a ~primitive~ like me."  
"Ok, I'll ask him. Grab yourself a sandwich or something for your long journey towards the refugee camp."  
James turned towards the fridge to scrounge for food, "Thanks, Lola!"  
Garrus''s mandibles twitched as he waited, his eyes had gone flat and he watched James like a lion views prey.   
Delia picked up on his agitation again, and admonished James, "I thought I told you to quit calling me, Lola. You know it's disrespectful."  
James talked around his sandwich as he put the rest of his ingredients away.  
"Yeah, sorry about that, Commander. Just teasing. Meant no disrespect, ma'am. Garrus."  
Delia sighed deeply and gently pushed James towards the door.  
"See you later, troublemaker."  
"You know it, Commander."  
James waved goodbye with his sandwich then left the apartment.  
Delia turned towards Garrus and kissed the mandible closest to her, her soft human lips against turian plating. Most of his tension left his shoulders and he relaxed somewhat. He could barely feel her kiss on his mandible, truth be told, but he knew the softness of her lips and knew what the kiss meant. He sighed as she drew her hand down his face in a caress. His human mate was so soft and different than turians and other aliens, but he found her captivating nonetheless. Especially her hair, spirits it was decadent and drew him like a magnet. He tried not to be the weird alien boyfriend with their differences, but he loved the radiant vivid red of her hair, and how it was just as soft as the rest of her. It amazed him that someone so soft and so easily hurt could move the mountains of the galaxy and break Reaper confidence. His Shepard.   
She straightened her posture and stepped back from him, squaring her shoulders.  
"Time to find out what Javik wants."  
Garrus inhaled sharply, and tried not to groan at the upcoming confrontation.  
"Do you need backup?"  
Delia waved away the offer, "Nah, I got this. Thanks though. I'll be right back."  
She leaned forward again to kiss him on his mandible, almost like a small goodbye, then marched off to find Javik.  
Human customs were sometimes weird, and different from turians, but Garrus found he liked most of them nonetheless. He didn't think they realized that their softness bled through most of their customs. They cared deeply about their packmates and crewmates. Humans bonded with _everything._ **_Spirits_** , they bonded with everything. They were almost quarian in how they bonded with inanimate objects and lesser creatures. He remembered when he first joined the Normandy and was surprised by a little hall cleaner almost slicing his ankle. The crew had taped a knife and what humans called "googley eyes" to the little robot. They were very despondent when their officers found out what they had done and confiscated the cleaning unit, claiming that they had to earn the privilege back. His Shepard also had bonded very closely with that small furry rodent like creature in her quarters. She kept lamenting that she needed to get a better enclosure and enrichment toys for it, but something always came up before she could make the purchase.  
Garrus was pulled out of his musing when he saw Javik walking past with Delia in tow.  
"Now, don't hesitate to call me, Javik if you get lost or you get confused by some primitive custom. It would be no trouble at all to help you."  
Javik paused by the door, and was surprisingly polite to Delia as he replied, "I thank you, Commander. I will remember your offer. It will be.. strange, to walk the Citadel of my ancestors and see how much has changed. I think I need to see what they could not. I will keep in contact."  
Then with an incline of his head in farewell, he was gone.  
"What was that about?"  
Delia walked back towards Garrus, answering, "Oh, just what he said there at the end. He wanted to get permission to walk the Citadel, and wanted to make sure it wouldn't cause too much of a stir. He's very rude, terribly rude, and blunt, and he may not realize it, but he's very chain of command. Guess he still carries it with him from before stasis. Poor guy. It's gotta be rough seeing everything the same and yet so drastically different. Like falling into an alternate universe, I bet."  
When she reached Garrus, she faced him and entwined her arms around him, linking her hands behind his back. Most humans also liked being physically close and affectionate with their chosen mates. It was something to get used to, but it was a pleasant surprise for Garrus. It felt like she was making a home between the both of them, and with both of them uncertain about the fate of their families in the war, Garrus was grateful for the human closeness. He didn't feel as lost. Humans may not have huge families, or platoons, to bond with per various social stations like turians, humans were chaotic, vehemently independent, but some formed especially tight bonds with their close knit families or chosen companions. It's like they condensed fifty socially distant and acceptable turian friendships into a very cosy focal point. He didn't know how to explain it precisely, only that humans were much more independent and yet much more close than turians. It was paradoxical, wave or particle bullshit, but he found he craved it with her. Turian bonding trying to mesh with human bonding.  
Garrus reached over and ever so carefully, caressed her cheek with his talon and brushed her vibrant hair from her face. Her eyes were so cartoonishly huge compared to turian eyes, but they were beautiful to him. She had such deep blue eyes that he often stared into, trying to figure out all the myriad thoughts that flickered across her face.  
She closed her eyes and smiled in pleasure, leaning her head against his hand.   
It felt so nice, just being together in a quiet moment. All the worries of the galaxy seemed to fade away, and for a moment, he let himself relax and rest. For a moment, he could forget strategies, desperate communications back to Palaven, the stress from seeing numbers in the millions flash across his screen, from trying to be the liason between the humans and turians coordinated efforts. In this moment, it was soft and warm, and she didn't even know what a miracle that was to him.   
Most of the time he viewed her as his mate, his friend, his fellow soldier, and unconsciously, the spirits' focal point in the galaxy, sent to save them all. But for now, he felt it all fall away and she was only his. If he could, if even his conscience would let him, he would smuggle her far away from all this madness, to keep her safe from it all. But the galaxy needed her, far more than he needed her. It ate at him if he let it.  
Delia opened her eyes again, and still smiling, asked, "What's on your mind, Garrus? You're awful quiet."  
Garrus focused completely on her, lowered his head, and answered in a low multi-toned flanged voice, "You."


End file.
